EN – Camping essentials according to Enzo

We are planning a camping trip for the weekend so I thought I’d write a little article about what we bring for Enzo. It is not a complete list and doesn’t include the human part. So, what does Enzo bring when we go camping?

1. Food: Enzo loves to eat! He usually eats a raw meat diet. When we go camping, we opt for something dry instead. It’s easier to transport and there’s no risk of it leaking on our food. I do know, however, that many people who feed raw, continue when they go camping. Another cooler could be a good idea. For Enzo, we use Orijen freeze-dried or Honest Kitchen dehydrated food. It’s light, dry and we only need to add water to make it a meal.

2. Sleeping bag: Enzo will sleep on our sleeping bags if he doesn’t have his. It’s all cute, but a 70 lb dog takes up a lot of space in a small tent. That’s why we decided to get him his own sleeping bag. There are many different brands out there that target dogs specifically. However, we decided to go for a human one. It was a bit more within our budget and Enzo can’t really tell the difference…

3. Bug spray: Because of his short hair, Enzo is not protected at all against bug bites. And boy do they love him 😦 To help him out a little, we use a bug spray made by Black Sheep Organics. It works really well!

4. First aid kit: Because we like to be prepared, we also bring a pet first aid kit. We use one made by Canine Friendly. It’s pretty complete, we just needed to add a tick remover.

5. Life jacket: If you plan on camping near water or if you go canoe-camping, a life jacket is a must! Enzo is in no way an Olympic swimmer, but with the vest on you can’t really tell 😉 We use the vest made by Canine Friendly.

6. Toys: Dogs like to play, even when they go camping! We try to use toys that are easy to wash. West Paw offers many toys that are not only easy to wash, but that also float! If you want to bring plush toys, we suggest giving them to your dog in the tent only.

7. Bowls: We use stainless steel or collapsible bowls. They are both light, easy to transport and to clean. Collapsible bowls are also very useful if you go on a hike. Just clip it on your backpack and that’s it!

8. Cooling vest: While we were canoe-camping last year, Enzo got really hot and it scared me a lot. We had to stop many times to keep him cool. Since then, we have added a cooling vest to our camping essentials. It helps keep him cool even when it’s hot outside. We just need to add water on the vest so it’s super useful when canoe-camping. We use the Ruffwear one.

9. Long leash: A long leash is very useful to tie up Enzo on our camp site. That way, we don’t need to be holding the leash at all times, we just tie him up to a tree. We made our own leash with a rope and carabiner from Canadian Tire. Make sure that the leash is not too long. Your dog should not be able to visit the neighbours.

10. Usual stuff: The list would be very long if I added every little thing we bring. The usual stuff included everything we use pretty often like the collar, tags, harness, leash, poop bags, rain jacket, warm sweater, towel for the paws, treat bags and treats, car harness or crate, etc.